Brush for apparatus for cleaning surfaces immersed in a liquid

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a brush ( 16 ) adapted to be rotated around an axis ( 13 ) for apparatus for cleaning a surface immersed in a liquid. The brush ( 16 ) comprises at least two brush ( 16 ) surfaces ( 15 ) of different mechanical characteristics, arranged in different angular positions of the brush ( 16 ) around said axis ( 13 ).

The field of the invention is the field of accessories for swimming pools. To be more precise, the invention concerns a brush for apparatus for cleaning surfaces immersed in a liquid such as for example a swimming pool cleaning robot, a tubular brush, a cleaning apparatus including such a brush, and a method of manufacturing such a brush.

PRIOR ART

The invention concerns a brush for apparatus for cleaning surfaces immersed in a liquid, such as a surface formed by the walls of a pool, notably of a swimming pool. It is notably a question of a brush for a mobile swimming pool cleaning robot.

FIG. 1 represents one example of a mobile swimming pool cleaning robot 10 that exists already. Said robot 10 includes a body, movement means 11 comprising for example wheels or caterpillar tracks, and a rotary shaft 12 carrying a brush 16. Said brush 16 being positioned so as to come into contact with the surfaces of the pool to be cleaned.

In an embodiment conforming to patent application U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,725, the brush 16 includes a plurality of cylindrical disks 14 mounted on a rotary shaft 12. Each cylindrical disk 14 includes a central opening corresponding in size and shape to the cross section of the rotary shaft 12, onto which said cylindrical disks 14 are threaded.

The cylindrical disks 14 are made of a compressed spongy cellulose material or a similar material.

This threaded-together brush structure takes a long time to assemble because the cylindrical disks 14 have to be threaded around the rotary shaft 12 one after the other.

Replacing a worn cylindrical disk 14 with a replacement cylindrical disk 14 placed at the same location on the brush 16 takes a long time. In fact, in a first stage, it is necessary to remove the worn cylindrical disk 14, by removing all the cylindrical disks 14 preceding it from one end of the rotary shaft 12. In a second stage, it is necessary to insert the replacement cylindrical disk 14 around the rotary shaft 12 in place of the worn cylindrical disk 14. Finally, in a third stage, it is necessary to replace the cylindrical disks 14 removed to enable the replacement cylindrical disk 14 to be fitted around the rotary shaft 12, one after the other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to remedy some or all of the disadvantages of the prior art solutions, notably those described above, by proposing a solution that makes it possible to facilitate the fitting and the replacement of said brush as well as saving time.

To this end, and in a first aspect, the invention concerns a brush adapted to be rotated around an axis for apparatus for cleaning a surface immersed in a liquid. The brush comprises at least two brush surfaces with different mechanical characteristics, arranged in different angular positions of the brush around said axis.

To be more precise the invention concerns apparatus for cleaning swimming pools.

The brush is a patchwork of brush surfaces with different characteristics and contiguous with one another. Such features make it possible to vary the material and/or the shape of the brush surfaces. The brush has an approximately cylindrical shape.

Such features make it possible to customize the brush as a function of the requirements of the surface to be cleaned, for example by choosing the number and the nature of the brush surfaces to be assembled. Moreover, forming a single part, the brush is simple to change when it is worn out.

In particular embodiments the brush may further have one or more of the following features, separately or in all technically possible combinations.

In particular embodiments of the invention the brush surfaces are joined together beforehand and form a windable strip which has a length “L”. The windable strip is suitable for covering a rotary shaft of predetermined diameter “D” oriented along an axis when the windable strip is wound onto the rotary shaft by assembly means.

In particular embodiments of the invention the assembly means are of tenon/mortise type.

Such features make it possible to use assembly means that are simple to use to form the windable strip and to undo it. The tenon/mortise type assembly means consist of a flexible material that enables easy manipulation of said assembly means.

In particular embodiments of the invention the brush surfaces are rectangular strips. At least two rectangular strips may have the same width or different widths. The rectangular strips preferably extend along the axis of the rotary shaft carrying said brush.

It is clear that a width of a rectangular strip occupies a part of the length L of the windable strip.

Such features make it possible to have use of a brush including rectangular strips extending along the axis of the rotary shaft. When the robot advances, the rotation of the brush brings a succession of rectangular strips into contact with the surface to be cleaned.

In particular embodiments of the invention the brush surfaces have different hardnesses.

Such features make it possible to alternate the hardness of the successive surfaces of the brushes on rotation of the brush on the surface to be cleaned. This makes it possible to alternate the functionalities of the brush surfaces because strips with different hardnesses can have different functions.

In particular embodiments of the invention the windable strip includes at least one polyvinyl chloride (PVC) brush surface and at least one elastomer brush surface.

In particular embodiments of the invention, the windable strip includes at least one PVC brush surface and at least one bristle brush surface.

PVC brushes combine stud brushes and flap brushes. By stud brush is meant a brush including cylindrical elements having a diameter varying from approximately 1 to 4 mm. By flap brush is meant a brush including flaps with a size of approximately 15 to 30 mm and a thickness of approximately 2 mm. Such features makes it possible to vary in the same brush the categories of brush surfaces that constitute the windable strip, i.e. this gives the possibility for example of combining in the same brush PVC brush surfaces and elastomer brush surfaces and/or PVC brush surfaces and bristle brush surfaces.

Previous features taken in combination advantageously allow to have surfaces of brushes in greater numbers than two, with distinct respective widths, together with different hardnesses. Hence such a configuration allows to provide to the brush a brushing capacity, through a friction force, varying according to the angular position of the brush on the immersed surface. This configuration of the brush is also adapted so that the immersed surface is subjected to a friction force with fixed intensity during a predetermined time, said predetermined time depending on the width of the brush surface generating said friction force. Thus, the brush is advantageously configurable according to all possibilities in terms of geometry and hardness of the brush surfaces in order to have an optimal cleaning of the immersed surface.

In particular embodiments of the invention the assembly means that assemble two ends of the windable strip of length L other than the lengths L are reversible.

Such features make it possible to fix the windable strip to the rotary shaft and to detach it easily. This also makes it possible to facilitate changing the brush.

A second aspect of the invention concerns a tubular brush adapted to be inserted over a rotary shaft adapted to carry said brush.

Such features make it possible to insert around the rotary shaft adapted to carry a brush the tubular brush already consisting of brush surfaces assembled beforehand.

A third aspect of the invention concerns swimming pool cleaning apparatus including the brush described above.

Such features make it possible to have use of apparatus including a brush consisting of brush surfaces that can be customized in terms of shape, quantity and nature of brushes for improved adaptation to the surfaces to be cleaned and improved efficacy of said brush.

A fourth aspect of the invention concerns a method of manufacturing a brush for apparatus for cleaning a swimming pool in accordance with any one of the preceding embodiments including steps of:

-   -   assembling brush surfaces that form a windable strip,     -   assembling ends of lengths L′ of the windable strip other than         the lengths L of the windable strip so as to form a tube.

Such features make it possible to manufacture a brush that can be customized by virtue of the very numerous possibilities of assembling brush surfaces. The tube so formed can be inserted around the rotary shaft that is adapted to carry said brush.

In particular embodiments the method includes a step prior to the assembly of the ends of length L′ when the assembly means that join said ends are reversible, consisting in placing the windable strip around the rotary shaft such that the lengths L are wound around said rotary shaft.

Such features make it possible, if the rotary shaft of the robot is not accessible to slide the tube around the rotary shaft, to pass the windable strip made up of the assembly of brush surfaces around the rotary shaft and then to assemble it. The lengths L correspond to D*Π which corresponds to the circumference of the rotary shaft of diameter D.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood after reading the following description given by way of nonlimiting example and with reference to the figures, which show:

FIG. 1 (already cited): an example of a prior art swimming pool cleaning robot,

FIGS. 2, 3: views of examples of windable strip,

FIGS. 4 and 5: examples of tubes formed of at least two brush surfaces joined together.

In these figures, references that are identical from one figure to another designate identical or analogous elements. For reasons of clarity, the elements in the figures are not represented to scale unless otherwise indicated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Various means may be employed to clean the surfaces of a pool such as a swimming pool, notably a mobile cleaning robot.

Such a robot includes a body, movement means and a rotary shaft carrying a brush 16. In the present example the brush 16 is an approximately cylindrical brush. Said brush 16 being positioned so as to come into contact with the surfaces of the pool to be cleaned.

The brush 16 that is the subject matter of the invention comprises surfaces 15 of brushes 16 assembled to form a windable strip. Said surfaces 15 of brushes 16 are for example assembled by gluing them together, by slightly heating the ends of the surfaces 15 of brushes 16 to bond them together, or by any other means enabling the surfaces 15 of brushes 16 to be joined together.

FIG. 2 is a preferred embodiment of the windable strip. In this embodiment, the windable strip has a rectangular shape including two parallel lengths L and two lengths L′. Said windable strip comprises six surfaces 15 of brushes 16 of respective widths I1 to I6 which in this preferred embodiment are in the form of rectangular strips extending longitudinally relative to the axis 13 of the rotary shaft 12. In this embodiment, a rectangular strip has a width I1 included in the length L of the windable strip. This width I1 is equivalent to a width I3 of another rectangular strip of the windable strip of the FIG. 2 embodiment. In this same embodiment, another rectangular strip has a width I2 different from the width I1.

In this nonlimiting embodiment of the invention the windable strip is made up of alternating rectangular strips that have different hardnesses. In fact, the FIG. 2 embodiment includes two rectangular strips of equivalent hardness and of equivalent width I1 and I3. The FIG. 2 embodiment also includes a rectangular strip of width I5 less than the widths I1 and I3 but of equivalent hardness to the rectangular strips of widths I1 and I3. The windable strip from FIG. 2 also includes two rectangular strips of widths I2 and I4 and equivalent hardness. The windable strip includes another rectangular strip of width I6 having a hardness different from the hardnesses of the strips of widths I1, I2 and I5.

The surfaces 15 of brushes 16 of the windable strip of the FIG. 2 nonlimiting embodiment of the invention include only elastomer surfaces 15 of brushes 16 but they have different hardnesses.

The lengths L of the windable strip have a dimension equal to Π*D where D is the diameter of the rotary shaft 12 over which the brush 16 is inserted.

The windable strip forms a tube by joining the end of the rectangular strip of width I1 not joined to the rectangular strip of length I2 to the end of the rectangular strip of width I6 not joined to the rectangular strip of width I5. Said ends are joined together by means of different assembly means 17. Reversible assembly means 17 for joining these ends exist in the form of flexible tenon/mortise type means as can be seen in FIG. 4. By tenon is meant a male part of a construction part intended to be inserted into a female part of another part, called the mortise. Joining by nesting a tenon in a mortise makes it possible to hold two parts together.

Other assembly means 17 that may be used include self-gripping strips. In the FIG. 2 embodiment, a self-gripping strip would be installed at the end of the rectangular strip of width I1 not joined to the rectangular strip of width I2 and to the end of the rectangular strip of width I6 not joined to the rectangular strip of width I5. The two self-gripping strips are fixed to the rectangular strips so that they can be assembled to form a tube. Velcro® strips are one example of self-gripping strips. The reversible assembly means 17 correspond to strip assembly means 17 enabling them to be assembled and separated easily without using tools.

Non-reversible assembly means 17 may be used to assemble two surfaces 15 of brushes 16. For example, the ends of the rectangular strips of width I1 and I6 not joined to the rectangular strips of widths I2 and I5 may be slightly heated so that the materials of the rectangular strips of widths I1 and I6 are softened and bond together on cooling when the two ends are in contact.

The windable strip from FIG. 2 forms a tube like that from the FIG. 5 embodiment. However, the FIG. 5 tube comprises another example of assembling surfaces 15 of brushes 16. In fact, the tube from FIG. 5 comprises at least four surfaces 15 of brushes 16 all of different hardnesses and widths. Moreover, the tube comprises surfaces 15 of brushes 16 in PVC, in foam and in thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). The tube may also include a surface 15 of brushes 16 in elastomer of flexible PVC TPE.

Other examples of windable strips are represented in FIG. 3. The FIG. 3 embodiment includes widths L corresponding to Π*D with D corresponding to the diameter of the rotary shaft 12 over which the brush 16 is inserted. The FIG. 3 embodiment includes surfaces 15 of brushes 16 in the form of rectangular strips not perpendicular or parallel to the axis 13 and a surface 15 of brushes 16 of non-geometric shape.

The method of manufacturing this brush 16 comprises a first step of assembling surfaces 15 of brushes 16. This produces a windable strip that has at least two lengths L equivalent to Π*D where D corresponds to the diameter of the rotary shaft 12 over which the brush 16 will be inserted.

Two ends of length L′ of the windable strip that do not correspond to the lengths L are assembled by assembly means 17.

If the assembly means 17 are non-reversible, then the two ends of the windable strip are assembled and form a tube that slides on the rotary shaft 12 of the robot 10. The rotary shaft 12 of the robot 10 being accessible for the tube to slide on.

If the assembly means 17 are reversible, then a user places the windable strip around the rotary shaft 12 so that the lengths L surround the rotary shaft 12. Said user then assembles the ends of the windable strip using reversible assembly means 17 such as tenon/mortise type means.

Changing the brush 16 when worn is simple. If the means 17 for assembling the ends of the windable strip are reversible, a user detaches the assembly means 17 in order to separate the ends. Said user then winds around the rotary shaft 12 a new windable strip including reversible assembly means 17 that he fixes.

If the assembly means 17 are non-reversible, the rotary shaft 12 is accessible for sliding along the rotary shaft the tube formed by assembling the ends of the windable strip. Thus if the tube is worn, a user removes it from the accessible rotary shaft 12 and adds a new one.

The foregoing description clearly shows that by virtue of its various features and the advantages thereof the present invention achieves the objectives set for it. In particular, the brush 16 that is the subject matter of the invention makes it possible to combine the use of surfaces 15 of brushes 16 where the characteristics of said surfaces 15 of brushes 16 are different from one another in order to associate different functionalities. Manufacturing and changing the brush 16 are also simple to carry out. 

1. Brush adapted to be rotated around an axis for an apparatus for cleaning a surface immersed in a liquid, wherein said brush comprises at least two brush surfaces of different mechanical characteristics, arranged in different angular positions of the brush around said axis.
 2. Brush according to claim 1, wherein the brush surfaces, that are joined together beforehand, and form a windable strip which has a length “L,” suitable for covering a rotary shaft of predetermined diameter “D” oriented along the axis, when this windable strip is wound Onto the rotary shaft by assembly means.
 3. Brush according to claim 2, wherein the assembly means are of tenon/mortise type.
 4. Brush according to claim 1, wherein the brush surfaces are rectangular strips.
 5. Brush according to claim 4, wherein the rectangular strips extend along the axis of the rotary shaft carrying said brush.
 6. Brush according to claim 4, wherein the rectangular strips have the same width.
 7. Brush according to claim 4, wherein at least two rectangular strips have different widths.
 8. Brush according to claim 1, wherein at least two brush surfaces have different hardnesses.
 9. Brush according to claim 1, having at least one PVC brush surface and at least one elastomer brush surface.
 10. Brush according to claim 1, having at least one PVC brush surface and at least one bristle brush.
 11. Brush according to claim 2, wherein the assembly means that assemble two ends of lengths L′ of the windable strip other than the lengths L are reversible.
 12. Tubular brush according to claim 1, which is adapted to be inserted over the rotary shaft adapted to carry said brush (16).
 13. Swimming pool cleaning apparatus including a brush according to claim
 1. 14. Method for manufacturing a brush for an apparatus for cleaning a surface immersed in a liquid according to claim 1, including the steps of: assembling brush surfaces that form a windable strip, assemble ends of lengths L′ of the windable strip other than the lengths L so as to form a tube by way of assembly means.
 15. Method for manufacturing a brush according to claim 11, having a step prior to the assembling of the ends of lengths L′ of the windable strip, when the assembly means that join said ends are reversible, said prior step consisting in placing the windable strip around the rotary shaft such that the lengths L are wound around said rotary shaft. 